The very words “Spike Lee’s Oldboy” have been enough to rile even casual fans of 2003 Korean film by director Chan-wook Park. That movie has been solidified as a cult-classic, and the idea of an American remake – under the guidance of a divisive director like Spike Lee – has generally gone down like olive oil in a milkshake.

However, the tide of hatred directed at the Oldboy remake has been slowly abating as the film has progressed down the production pipeline. The casting of Josh Brolin (Sin City 2), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla) and Sharlto Copley (Elysium) in the principal roles instilled the first rays of hope – and the recent release of a red-band trailer showed that the dark world of Park’s film would be honored in Lee’s remake. Today, some hi-res images from the film continue to try to build positive momentum – while Lee gives a video interview about working with Sam Jackson again, and the actor’s crazy hairstyle in the film (which you can see in the gallery below).

Check out these hi-res images from Oldboy (2013):

Clearly the studio is trying to convert skeptical fans of the original film; most of these photos highlight iconic moments from Park’s movie, including the Hallway hammer fight, the mysterious girl with the yellow umbrella, the trunk in the field – and of course, the infamous squid-eating scene. Will Josh Brolin go so far as to eat a live squid on camera? We’re betting not – but we know that the scene will be getting a nice little head-nod, at the very least.

Finally, Spike Lee is featured in a brief video interview segment released by the studio; in it he talks about working with Samuel L. Jackson again and how SLJ’s proclivity for wild hairstyles in his roles led to the crazy yellow hairdo scene above:

How do you feel about Oldboy at this point – willing to give it a chance, or still skeptical that anything good can come of this?

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Dazz 1 year ago

Honestly?

I don’t see how anyone could be skeptical. Even if you prefer the original, there will be Western cinema goers who haven’t seen it and might check it out after seeing this remake.

Min-Sik Choi actually ate a live octopus, not a live squid. In fact, he ate THREE (is it octopi?). They were small ones, but I have no idea how he did it… I’d just say, “They have to be real? We can’t fake it? OK, you know what? I’m out. I can’t do this. Bring in the next guy, sorry.” UGH. And obviously, it was no picnic for the poor octopi either.

Other than THAT, hope they keep all the other really dark stuff in Spike Lee’s version. I see they made the amount of time he’s locked up longer… so his daughter will be older? Hell, I don’t know what way Lee’s going to go with that…

No one is eating anything live in American cinema. I watched the original behind the scenes and it was funny to watch the actor spit out the squid he didn’t want to finish. Nothing is better than REAL!

If anything, this should make for an interesting comparison for those who’ve seen the original. For those who haven’t, assuming Lee does a good job, this should be a nice eye opener. I’m hoping Lee sticks with the original shock ending.

I’m confused.. If you’re not a fan why did you go as far as to watch the behind the scenes footage of the scene where he eats the squid in the original? You mentioned it in a previous comment on this thread.

Ah, I see your confusion. Several years back I heard about the movie via much positive hype around the interwebs so I gave it a try on Netflix. But before I watched I found some files on U tube and watched them. One was a behind the scenes squid scene. But for the overall movie I was not a fan. I simply did not like the subject matter. I liked the squid scene and I likes the infamous hammer in the hallway fight scene (Its probably the best fight scene ever shot on film). So I like 2 scenes in the movie but I am not a fan of the subject matter and overall plot of the movie.

I will watch this when it comes out to rent just to see how the hallway scene is re created. But paying for this one in a movie theater isn’t something im going to do.

Park Chan-Wook’s original is a masterpiece, hell I love his whole Vengeance trilogy, so I seriously doubt this remake will match up. Even the good Hollywood remakes of Far Eastern cinema have been worse than the originals (The Departed doesn’t match Infernal Affairs for instance).